This is a chronic and degenerative disease causing inflammation in the membrane that protects and covers the cartilage of the joints. The bone becomes eroded and damaged due to the inflammation. This is different from arthrosis, which causes lesions to the joint cartilage. It causes a great deal of pain, especially in women older than 40. Treating rheumatoid arthritis is a slow and difficult process. Learn how to deal with rheumatoid arthritis in the following article.

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

The symptom that is visible and main is inflammation or swelling of joints, which is causing pain. The areas that are most affected of rheumatoid arthritis are the wrists, elbows, shoulders, fingers, toes, hips, ankles, and knees. A common sense in patients that have this disease is to have a sensation of stiffness, especially when they wake up in the morning.

Rheumatoid nodules can also appear. Those are bulges in the skin (in particular on the feet and the back of the hands) or even inside the whole body. Due to the inflammation, the joints become deformed after the disease has reached a state that is advanced.

Patients that suffer from arthritis also have symptoms like fatigue, fever, neck pain, dryness in the eyes, mouth (mucus membranes), and tingling in feet and hands.

Hints for Natural Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Daily consumption of oil of borage seed as a supplement. This oil has Omega-6 fatty acids and has been proven to be an effective remedy to lessen and alleviate the pain that causes arthritis.

Do proper exercise, and avoid the ones that are harmful. It is recommended the aerobic kind with low impact, like swimming, walking, or stretching. It’s likely that the first days you will feel pain after you exercise, but this is normal, don’t stop. After your body gets used to it, it will get less and less bothersome.

Figure out if you have some kind of allergy, like to milk or wheat, through a medical consultation. It has been shown that if patients stop consuming some certain food they could relieve or get rid of the symptoms of arthritis.

Choose the foods that are recommended for treating the pain from this disease. These are blue fish (trout, mackerel, and sardines) which have Omega-3 fatty acids and are anti-inflammatory; vegetable oils (olive, walnut, rape, or linseed) are also rich in these acids. It is recommended to consume them raw because in that way their characteristics are being conserved. Also, dried fruits (walnut, almond, hazelnut, pistachio, date), keeping in mind that these have high calorie contents; leafy greens (swiss chard, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, Brussel’s sprouts, spinach), which have antioxidant properties and neutralize the effect of those well-known “free radicals” and fruit rich in vitamin C (oranges, mandarins, kiwi, mango, and strawberries).

Natural Remedies for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis

Apply cold compresses: This will help reduce swelling and inflammation of your joints. It is suggested to use ice bags and to apply the ice bags directly to the painful area so that the pain vanishes. Apply for 15 minutes, max and if you want to repeat, wait a half hour. Be careful because if you use ice, you could burn your skin. It’s best to cover it with a cloth or towel.

Apply heat to relax your muscles: You can use thermic pillows, which plug in and give heat to apply to the area that hurts. You could even wet a towel in hot water and apply it. Some people heat a cloth with the steam from boiling water or put their feet and ankles in a bucket with hot water. If the pain is in your whole body, fill a bathtub and soak for a few minutes. Soak until the temperature of the water decrease.

Use body and mind therapy: When the “conventional” treating rheumatoid arthritis is combined with techniques for controlling stress, improving sleep, becoming aware of pain, the symptoms will notably reduce.

Breathe properly: According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, proper breathing, slowly and deeply from the abdomen, can help arthritis problems by changing your emotional state. It also helps to reduce stress, tension, and anger in difficult situations.

Take advantage of muscular and progressive relaxation: You will need to be well concentrated and relax each and every one of your muscle groups in your body. Start from your head, through the neck and arms, back, chest, stomach, pelvis, hips, legs, and feet. You can be seated or laying down (without falling asleep). Breathe deeply and slowly.

Meditate: This therapy lets you reduce cardiac frequency and gets rid of your pain. It also reduces depression, anxiety, stress, and helps increase concentration and self- awareness. The flower lotus pose is letting you to relax some joints and muscles) for example, your wrists, which are gently resting on your knees or your shoulders that “fall” beneath your neck).

Do yoga or tai chi: The oriental exercises are very safe and effective for people that have rheumatoid arthritis. These are also adequate for elderly people due to the easy and gentle movements. They are helpful for increasing the entire body strength and improving the movement range. They also have a spiritual component and the mind can focus outside the limits of the pain.